Guest Post by Charles E. Yallowitz: What I’ve Learned

You probably remember author Charles E. Yallowitz, who’s become a regular visitor to this blog and fast friend. He graciously agreed to a guest post on the things he has learned since self-publishing his first book of his Legends of Windemere series. Take it, Charles!

Stuff I’ve learned since publishing my first book

So, Nicholas and I were talking a while back and I said something that caught his attention. It was a simple comment about stuff I learned since I published my first book of Legends of Windemere back in February of 2013.

I’m gearing up for the 7th book of the series, Sleeper of the Wildwood Fugue, and Nicholas suggested I write about what I’ve learned over the last two years — that happen to feel like a decade.

Though I’ve learned a lot, so we’ll see what comes to mind for this list.

1. Be Consistent

A long series inevitably slows down in terms of sales, so a smarter target should be consistency. As long as all of the books are selling, you’re doing good. Now, the reason for this is because of the nature of a series, especially those that go beyond a trilogy. Not everyone continues reading after every book or keeps the same pace. One reader might not like what you did in Book 2, so they stop. Another might start at Book 3, love it, and return to the beginning. You never know the order that people are reading or if they’re going to continue. All an author can do is write a fun story, promote it, and get ready for the next installment.

Unless you have a mind control device, which you could probably buy off Amazon.

2. Don’t expect a review

Outside of your circle of supporters, most people will read your book and move on without reviewing. Authors love reviews, but you have to realize that it’s only a fraction of readers who do this. Is every review special? Yes. Should every review be listened to? No — and I’ll touch on that in a second. My point here is that many times a reviewer is a reader that you hit an emotional button with.

Think about yourself and realize that you tend to only react when something really stirs you in some fashion. This is the case with most reviews, which isn’t a bad thing. You want to get a reaction. Preferably a good one, but you can’t please everybody.

3. Expect suggestions

You’re going to get suggestions on how to make your book ‘better’. Some are great pieces of advice that can fit into your style. Others are basically attempts to make you turn your story into the reader’s favorite book, or an ideal tale that they should probably write themselves. I know that sounds a little mean, but you’re going to get people that try to convince you to write the story their way.

When this happens, you can do one of two things. Thank the person and ignore the suggestion because it would counteract where you’re heading in the story.

Or, thank the person and see if it will fit into what you’re doing or possibly even an alteration of it would work.

It is very important to be polite here because they are taking the time to talk to you. This brings me to #4:

4. It is your story

IT IS YOUR STORY AND ONLY YOU KNOW WHERE IT IS GOING! Never forget this, because passionate readers will try to guess your path and push for their version to be true. You can listen, but always remember that this is the story you came up with and you know where it’s heading. Unless you spew spoilers like a broken fire hydrant on a summer day; then the suggestions might have more weight.

5. Number obsession

You’ll obsess over some numbers as you progress through your blogging/author career. Whether it be blog visits, likes, sales, Amazon rankings, or word counts, you will probably start looking at something to gauge your success.

Here’s the truth: You will always have slow days. Even the big names have moments where they aren’t on a Top 10 list. My suggestion is to always find the positive stat or something that can make you feel like you’re making progress. A big part of being an author is BSing yourself into staying positive even if things aren’t going your way.

6. You need help

You cannot do this alone and helping out other authors isn’t a bad thing. I take a lot of support from the friends I’ve made during this journey. I’ve made some really close friendships here and some of them still hold strong today. These are people I know will help me promote my books and be there if I need help.

Is it my glowing personality? No because I still haven’t changed the lightbulb on the thing since 1995. Seriously though, these connections appear for various reasons.

One of the most important aspects of these relationships is that I help them when they need it. I reblog other authors, volunteer for cover reveals/blog tours when I see the requests, retweet, and lend a hand when I see it.

I noticed last year that this was becoming a less common practice than when I started. Why did this happen? No idea, because I kept chugging along with helping others even when I should have been focusing on my own stuff (I really should write that last paragraph of the book sitting in the other Word window).

7. Have fun!

And I’m back for the finale . . . Need a good final lesson here . . . Kind of came off a little disgruntled in a few of the others . . . Oh, yes: HAVE FUN!

Seriously, this is something that shouldn’t be said, but it has to be screamed from the rooftops. I’ve seen so many authors get obsessed with the numbers, the marketing, flame wars, gossip, and so many other things that they simply stop writing. At the very least, they don’t seem to have the same passion than when they started. Every book is an experiment, every post is a test, and every step takes days of planning.

JUST HAVE FUN AND WRITE YOUR STORIES! Goof off on your blog with an interactive post and show that you’re a human being behind the words. Sure, you shouldn’t get too close because that can just lead to trouble. Yet if you show you’re having fun as an author, it will bring more people to you and make them more inclined to give you a chance. In fact, I would say fun is the most important part of this because it should be around for every piece of the process. From brainstorming to promoting, do it with a runaway smile (Couldn’t resist, Nicholas).

Who is Charles, you say?

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State.

When he isn’t working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day.

‘Legends of Windemere’ is his first series, but it certainly won’t be his last.

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Excellent advice, Charles! I especially loved the last line. Very clever. Can I add one? Be authentic, no one likes a phony. You and Nicholas are prime examples of genuinely nice people, and I’m so glad to know each of you.

Thanks. Authenticity is a great one. It’s interesting how many people you run into that fake that. In that vein, I’ve found that the Internet does allow for an easier masking of phoniness. At least with personality because you can always tell with a person’s stories. Though there are those authors that take on an alternate personality for their books, which could be authentic. Kind of like a Jekyll and Hyde thing, but Hyde is an author.

To be fair, that’s simply being human. Most of us are told that we have to keep certain emotions or truths to ourselves and our inner circle. Nobody likes to hear about a person being sad, angry, or anything that can bring them down. So we put on the smile for the public. I’ve done that at every job because ‘work and home life should be separated entirely’, which is utter BS. Life is life and the different sections are going to bleed into each other. This is starting to sound rather cynical.

As far as fiction authors go, we do peddle events that never happened about people who never lived in worlds that never existed. That is unless an author is really a conduit to another dimension and all our stories are real somewhere. 😀

Well done Charles. I think we all have had angst on the seven. The have fun part is the hardest I think. After all is said and done this one needs the most reminder. If we were NY Times best sellers it would be easier.Thanks to Nick for hosting.

It really is the hardest at times. Even NY Times bestsellers might have issues because there’s added pressure to repeat the performance. Though it would take other edges off. We should get there and see what happens.

Some great tips today. I’m with the majority that having fun is the most important part. If a writer or blogger isn’t having fun, perhaps they would enjoy something else. None of us are punching in for the benefits package.

Great advice, Charles. And what an achievement!
I also noticed that cover reveals, blog tours, and tweets have tapered off a bit. I’m not sure why. But I appreciate the community of people wiling to help promote other authors.

I noticed several references to “the numbers” in your post and the comments.

I can tell others that, for the Author still working on getting that first piece written in order to put it out there, it is a fear of lack of numbers that can overwhelm one to put off finishing for just a while longer.

The fun part can also fall by the wayside when we begin looking at the writing as a chore, something like “I HAVE to write more today” instead of “I GET to…”

Thanks for this glimpse into the process, Charles! Thanks, as well, Nicholas, for hosting!

Sadly, the numbers are part of it. Though they’re able to be overcome with hard work. Being on a blog and interacting with other authors is a big help to get better than average numbers. When I started, I talked to other authors and did what I could to build up some Hype prior to going on sale. Now you have pre-order options, which is great if you can do it. So you’re already in a good spot.

Good point on the fun part. I jump between ‘have to’ and ‘get to’. Mostly because the latter isn’t as often as I’d like, so I have to push myself at times.

There is some very good advice here. I especially like number 5 – no matter what we do, we seem to obsess with numbers. Every number you get, whether one or a thousand, is more than you had before. And if you don’t get a like or a slae today, it doesn’t take away from what you had yesterday.

You’re welcome. It gets tough some days. You gain a supportive group of fans and fellow authors, which is great. Then some of them see your numbers slip, which brings out the condolences. Makes it tough to stay smiling. Still, don’t really have much of a choice if one wants to keep going.

Wonderful suggestions, Charlie, for writers and readers alike! Basic common sense, really — we just need to keep hearing it over and over until it sinks in. Thank you for all you are doing to assist other writers in their journey to and through publication. It’s a tough road to trek and keep one’s spirits high and that is exactly why I said this is great advice for anyone — we all have tough days and get obsessed about “numbers” (other peoples’ opinions). We need to keep our own lights lit and turn to our friends for support on those days (or in those moments) when it feels like our light is about to go out completely. All the very best to you, Alia

You’re welcome and glad to help. It is true that we seem to need reminders about some of these things. Far too easy to get bogged down and get lost. Those tough days can hurt and the good ones seem very few and far between. We just have to hold onto the latter and remember how sweet they are.

Reblogged this on Audrey Driscoll's Blog and commented:
Some great suggestions here by Charles. I especially like that he doesn’t ignore the negative aspects of writing and getting your stuff out there. It is tough. I see that with my series of 4 books I seriously broke Charles’s first suggestion. Each book has a different narrator, speaking in a different voice. Many readers possibly don’t like that, which would explain a few things. 🙂 It’s good to know others struggle with these issues, and very good to have access to the community of writers.

I wouldn’t say you broke it. Besides, it’s only a guideline. When I mention consistency, I really mean character personalities, workings of the world, and just the meat. For example, having the noble hero have a spontaneous killing spree because someone stepped on his foot. As odd as it sound, there can be consistency in no consistency. At least in your case, the change of a narrator for each book is a ‘theme’ and a consistent one. It gives each book a refreshing view and allows the reader to get to know another character. 🙂

Thanks for this, Charles. The series revolves around the central character, with each narrator providing a different view of him. In the third book, he is the narrator. I personally think this is a great way to tell the story, but given relatively slow sales and few reviews am thinking it’s not shared by many. Still, one persists. 🙂

That is very interesting and unique. We always want to know what others think of us, which this kind of steps into. The low sales and reviews are probably more marketing than quality. Nicholas has a great list of Amazon categories that might be able to help you get your books to stand out and I have a page on my blog with various marketing sites that range from free to pricey.

Thanks for some great advice Charles! Its easy to get demotivated at times, especially as an Indie with no publishing team to support you. Writing/ blogging friends and connections are so important in this regard. It is easy to get hung up on stats and sales figures… when I wrote and published my first book I was just so awed by what I had done… I HAD ACTUALLY WRITTEN A BOOK! That is such an achievement in itself. I learned so much and got so much fun out of it, and that’s what really matters. Thanks for reminding me of that. 😊

Good point on writing and publishing being an achievement. I think some people are claiming otherwise because of the indie author scene. I’ve had a few strangers tell me that it’s no big deal since anybody can do it and the market is saturated with junk. Yet, there is something else here. As much as anybody can publish a book, it’s something else to publish one that you worked hard on and feel emotionally connected to. To me, it’s so much heavier and more satisfying than doing it for a few quick bucks.

You should turn it into a drinking game, then. Every time someone makes such a comment, they should drink up. Obviously, this will only lead to more disparaging comments, hence more drinking… You can see where I’m going with this, right? 🙂

This is a great, realistic post, thanks. As for reviews, whatever happened to it being OK for people to just read books and enjoy them? This new fad which Amazon and the like have pushed onto us, has created more harm than good.

I know, but many of us are finding without reviews, our work doesn’t sell as well. Someone said the other day that you need 50 reviews for a book to sprout wings. That person is a candidate for a good flogging!

As a relatively new writer with my first book,The White Limousine self-published a few months ago, I’ve spent a lot of time reading up on marketing. It certainly is a daunting process for those of us who are no particularly adept at sales. Having said that, I really enjoyed your blog, Charles. It brought me back to why I write – because i just love to do it. Of course, I’d like to sell books, and i’ll keep learning about how to do that, but success isn’t just a matter of numbers.
I like the collegial tone and supportive comments made by those responding to this post. You’re my kind of people!